Lesson 28 Five pound too dear

I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain -- until I got back to the ship.

在回到船上之前，我一直為我的絕妙的討價(jià)還價(jià)而洋洋得意。

Lesson 28 Five pound too dear

No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single world!

然而不管我如何擺弄，那枝漂亮的鋼筆就是吸不進(jìn)墨水來(lái)。直到今天，那枝筆連一個(gè)字也沒(méi)寫(xiě)過(guò)！

Lesson 29 Funny or not

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on were we have been brought up.

我們覺(jué)得一則笑話(huà)是否好笑，很大程度取決于我們是在哪兒長(zhǎng)大的。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics.

幽默感與民族有著神秘莫測(cè)的聯(lián)系。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke.

譬如，法國(guó)人聽(tīng)完一則俄國(guó)笑話(huà)可能很難發(fā)笑。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke witch would make an Englishman laugh to tears.

同樣的道理，一則可以令英國(guó)人笑出淚來(lái)的笑話(huà)，俄國(guó)人聽(tīng)了可能覺(jué)得沒(méi)有什么可笑之處。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

Most funny stories are based on comic situations.

大部分令人發(fā)笑的故事都是根據(jù)喜劇情節(jié)編寫(xiě)的。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal.

盡管民族不同，有些滑稽的情節(jié)卻能產(chǎn)生普遍的效果。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films.

比如說(shuō)，不管你生活在哪里，你看查理。卓別林的早期電影很難不發(fā)笑。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from the U.S.,has recently come into fashion.

然而，近來(lái)一種新式幽默流行了起來(lái)，這種幽默主要來(lái)自美國(guó)。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

It is called 'sick humour'.

它被叫作“病態(tài)幽默”。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

Comedians base their jokes on tragic situation like violent death or serious accidents.

喜劇演員根據(jù)悲劇情節(jié)諸如暴死，重大事故等來(lái)編造笑話(huà)。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

Many people find this sort of joke distasteful The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself.

許多人認(rèn)為這種笑話(huà)是低級(jí)庸俗的。下面是個(gè)“病態(tài)幽默”的實(shí)例，你可據(jù)此自己作出判斷。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas.

圣誕節(jié)前幾周，某人摔斷了右腿被送進(jìn)醫(yī)院。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home.

從他進(jìn)醫(yī)院那一刻時(shí)，他就纏住醫(yī)生，讓醫(yī)生告訴他什么時(shí)候能回家。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital.

他十分害怕在醫(yī)院過(guò)圣誕。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

Though the doctors did his best, the patient's recovery was slow.

盡管醫(yī)生竭力醫(yī)治，但病人恢復(fù)緩慢。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

On Christmas Day, the man still had his right leg in plaster.

圣誕節(jié)那天，他的右腿還上著石膏，

Lesson 29 Funny or not

He spent a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing.

他在床上郁郁不樂(lè)地躺了一天，想著他錯(cuò)過(guò)的種種歡樂(lè)。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

The following day, however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.

然而，第二天，醫(yī)生安慰他說(shuō)，出院歡度新年的可能性還是很大的，那人聽(tīng)后振作了精神。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

The man took heart and, sure enough, on New Years' Eve he was able to hobble along to a party.

果然，除夕時(shí)他可以一瘸一拐地去參加晚會(huì)了。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him.

為了補(bǔ)償住院這一段不愉快的經(jīng)歷，那人喝得稍許多了一點(diǎn)。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.

在晚會(huì)上他盡情娛樂(lè)，一再告訴大家他是多么討厭醫(yī)院。

Lesson 29 Funny or not

He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.

晚會(huì)結(jié)束時(shí)，他嘴里還在嘟噥著醫(yī)院的事，突然踩到一塊冰上滑倒了，摔斷了左腿。

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was hunted.

多年來(lái)，村民們一直認(rèn)為恩得利農(nóng)場(chǎng)在鬧鬼。

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.

恩得利農(nóng)場(chǎng)屬于喬。考科斯和鮑勃。考科斯兄弟倆所有。

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

They employed a few farmhands, but no one was willing to work there long.

他們雇了幾個(gè)農(nóng)工，但誰(shuí)也不愿意在那兒長(zhǎng)期工作下去。

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.

每次雇工辭職后都敘述著同樣的故事。

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

Farm labourers said that they always woke up to find that work had been done overnight.

雇工們說(shuō)，常常一早起來(lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)有人在夜里把活干了，

Lesson 30 The death of a ghost

Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.

干草已切好，牛棚也打掃干凈了。